Some investors are averse to gold because, as Warren Buffett argues, it is an unproductive asset. Whereas equities and property can be useful and provide a return, gold “doesn’t do anything but sit there” and consequently has little inherent value, from Buffett’s point of view. The World Gold Council, however, says investment demand for gold exceeded 1,500 tonnes in 2016. As well as being the second-best year on record for inflows to gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sales of coins and bars alsWednesday, December 13, 2017

GOLD PRICES rallied $10 per ounce from yesterday's fresh 5-month lows against the Dollar in Asian trade Wednesday, only to lose half that bounce in London as traders looked to today's key US monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve.
With US inflation data due later on Wednesday, just before the US Fed's widely-expected quarter-point hike to interest rates, new data this morning put Germany's consumer-price index 1.8% higher in November Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The Federal Reserve is holding another policy meeting this week and financial markets are pricing in that a 25 basis point rate hike is almost guaranteed. Yet given recent Fed commentary, it seems like the move is hardly fait accompli.
That a rate hike would be a favored probability is reasonable enough. However given the Fed’s track record, as well as recent comments by Janet Yellen and John Williams, there is some question as to whether the rate hike is really a done deal.
In November Yellen mWednesday, December 13, 2017

The space race is on for some of the biggest names out there. Leading technology giants like Amazon.com, SpaceX, Microsoft, Virgin Group, Google, and Facebook are all getting in on the action.
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s second richest man after Microsoft’s Bill Gates, is funding rocket company Blue Origin to the tune of $1 billion a year. Blue Origin has been putting together a rocket factory in Kent, Wash., for several years. The company also plans to launch its rockets from a NASAWednesday, December 13, 2017

We live in inflationary times. Some people might consider this statement controversial. This is because these days inflation is widely understood as a rise in the consumer price index (CPI) of more than 2 percent per year. However, there are convincing reasons to question this viewpoint. On the one hand, the CPI does not include “assets” such as, for instance, stocks, housing, real estate, etc. As a result, the price developments of these goods are not accounted for by the changes in the CPI.OnWednesday, December 13, 2017

CHARACTERISTICS OF BUBBLE CRAZINESS:
S. stocks, according to many measures, are the most over-valued in history. We live in a Bubble Zone! Read Mystery Markets, Bubbles, and Less Risky Gold.
Bitcoin and other cryptos are definitely in a bubble, but they could rise even higher.
Bonds yield little, and in many European countries, less than zero. Central banks have created this distortion to the detriment of savers, insurance companies and pension funds.
Real estate: Some locations, such as New ZeWednesday, December 13, 2017

The debate continues between the SRSrocco Report and CPM Group’s Jeff Christian on the fundamentals of the silver market. After my article, in which I questioned the CPM Group’s exclusion of silver investment demand from their supply and demand analysis, Jeff Christian responded with a comment on my website. I am glad that Mr. Christian responded because it now allows me the opportunity to explain in more detail why I disagree with the CPM Group’s analysis.As I have mentioned before, this has Tuesday, December 12, 2017

SPOT GOLD prices failed to hold a 0.4% overnight rally from new 5-month lows in London on Tuesday, slipping back as world stock markets rose again ahead of tomorrow's key US Fed decision on Dollar interest rates amid worsening tensions in the Middle East.
Edging back towards $1241 per ounce today, the price of gold bullion for immediate delivery has now halved the 16% gains for 2017 reached at early September's 12-month peak.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017

And so, as they say in the horror movies, it begins…! The unwinding of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. Such an esoteric concept! Is there one in ten thousand of the millions of people who sit at desks all day long from sea to shining sea who have a clue how this works? Or what its relationship is to the real world?
I confess, my understanding of it is incomplete and schematic at best — in the way that my understanding of a Las Vegas magic act might be. All the flash and dazzle conceals theTuesday, December 12, 2017

It was two years ago this week that I proclaimed that we were witnessing the final lows in the 2011–2015 bear market in the precious metals as gold traded down to $1,045 amidst total capitulation by the Large Specs and after massive short-covering by the Commercial traders. The weekly COT for that week showed an aggregate short position of a miniscule 2,911 contracts down from the earlier highs of over 300,000 contracts. About six weeks later, despite the earlier bottom in gold, the HUI (NYSE ArTuesday, December 12, 2017

In her testimony to the Congress Economic Committee on November 29, 2017, the Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the neutral rate appears to be quite low by historical standards. From this, she concluded that the federal funds rate would not have to increase much to reach a neutral stance.The neutral rate currently appears to be quite low by historical standards, implying that the federal funds rate would not have to rise much further to get to a neutral policy stance. If the neutral level rises sTuesday, December 12, 2017

In the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis, Central Banks began cornering the sovereign bond market via Zero or even Negative interest rates and Quantitative Easing (QE) programs.
The goal here was to reflate the financial system by pushing the “risk free rate” to extraordinary lows. By doing this, Central Bankers were hoping to:
1) Backstop the financial system (sovereign bonds are the bedrock for all risk).
2) Induce capital to flee cash (ZIRP and NIRP punish those sitting on cash) andMonday, December 11, 2017

SILVER PRICES failed to follow a small bounce in gold bullion Monday morning in London, holding unchanged versus the US Dollar from New Year 2017 as gold held $100 per ounce higher from January 1st ahead of this week's long-anticipated US Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
With
silver prices slipping towards last week's new 5-month lows beneath $15.70 per ounce, world stock markets rose with commodities and major governmentMonday, December 11, 2017

A meme we have seen in the bitcoin community seems to be gaining traction. Bitcoin is deflationary. That is prices of things, measured in bitcoin, are falling. For example, in spring 2011, gasoline was Ƀ1.00. This week, that same gallon had fallen to Ƀ0.0001875. Gas has gone down by 99.98 percent!
We don’t think that even the diehard bitcoin bugs really believe this.
But it leads to an interesting point. In the past, we have used the analogy of measuring a steel meter stick with stretchy rubber Monday, December 11, 2017

If the price action in crypto currencies over the last several months has proven anything, it’s that the blockchain has gone fully mainstream with global investors, major financial institutions and governments showing significant interest in the space. While a number of blockchain projects are moving onto the stage, the primary focus for investors has been Bitcoin, which has seen an increase of over 1,600% in 2017. And according to Frank Holmes, there is much more to come.
In an interview with SMonday, December 11, 2017

US large cap stocks are the most overvalued in history. Let's investigate six ways.Crescat Capital claims US large cap stocks are the most overvalued in history, higher than prior speculative mania market peaks in 1929 and 2000.
Their 25-page presentation makes a compelling case, with numerous charts. It's worth your time to download and investigate the report.
Six Ways Socks Most Overvalued in History
Price to Sales
Price to Book
Enterprise Value to Sales
Enterprise Value to EBITDA
Price to EMonday, December 11, 2017

The Federal Reserve’s tools for achieving its dual mandate
of low inflation and full employment manipulate interest rates and therefore
markets. This manipulation of rates reverberates
globally. Their manipulation historically had been more light handed and
invisible to most of the public. However, over the last decade, their impact on
interest rates and yield levels have been the most dramatic in the history of
the Federal Reserve.
Whenever you have policies that are extreme, it is best to
Monday, December 11, 2017

* * *
Bitcoin Flirts with $16,000, Alarm Bells Ring Louder
By Jemima Kelly and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
Reuters
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Bitcoin rocketed to a lifetime high just shy of $16,000 today after climbing some 60 percent over one week, intensifying the debate about whether the cryptocurrency is in a bubble about to burst.
The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange struggled to keep up with record traffic as the price surged, with an upcoming launch of the first bitcoin futures contract Sunday, December 10, 2017

The gold price was traumatized yesterday by the Gold Cartel's forceful raid, plunging right through important support at $1,270 all the way down to $1,260.
While a technical breakdown was created, enough buyers showed up to take the price back up to a touch away from $1,270 through the early London trading hours. Efforts to break through that former support point were thwarted twice. Then it was pressure on a couple hours ahead of our Comex opening ... which took the price back down to $1,263.
Sunday, December 10, 2017

Dictatorship (noun): Definition #3: absolute power or authority (Websters); Def. #2: absolute, imperious or overbearing power or control (Random House);Def. #3: Absolute or despotic control or power (American Heritage);Def. #3: Absolute or supreme power or authority (Collins English Dictionary);Def. #1: A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or small clique (Wikipedia).“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battleSunday, December 10, 2017